#comedy sequel

We Want A Sequel To… DodgeBall

And we want it now!

(more…)

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sY6AaH7Et4)

This weekend, US audiences will brace for another comedy treat of nostalgia, in the form of HotTub Time Machine 2. (Or treat I can say?) Yes, it is another time that a follow-up from a beloved comedy will be released and take a dump on its legacy.(Hello, Dumb and Dumber To.) Sheesh, is this a trend nowadays? 

I am aware of the Hollywood strategy that producers would continue to milk in sequels to audience favorites, because the original made money. But currently, sequels are blatant attempts to cash-in franchises. And it becomes truly blatant of its execution and audience.

That goes big time for comedy sequels. The holes are truly irritating that it makes you question what quality comedy serves now. (I will be divulging more on comedy with the release of Unfinished Business.) And quality in comedy sequels are marketed to the fullest brim and made in the cheapest form. That hits hard if a follow-up of a comedy favorite disappoints.

Take Men in Black 2, for example, a movie that I once loved, now despised. The original Men in Black is a classic, and it reinvented the sci-fi comedy genre, the way Beverly Hills Cop did with the cop comedy genre. Since the original established itself as a cool and slick piece of cinema, everyone have high expectations for its sequel. The end result is a 90-minute disappointment of “nothingness” that ruined the nostalgia factor that MIB placed in the first place. (Good thing MIB 3 saved the franchise sparingly.)

That is exactly the point why it takes ton of effort on releasing a sequel and topping the original. But Hollywood never learns of “trying”, just “cashing-in”. It is not to say no great comedy sequels are on the horizon, it is just the trend becomes blatant. The bigger the ambition, the littler the quality.

And it comes to the reason I do not hold hopes for Hot Tub Time Machine 2. It is pretty much a bonanza reunion, composing of the original cast and crew, only adding Adam Scott to the main cast. And it pretty much resembles the original movie’s plotline, only more complicating and convoluted.

To give a favorite a follow-up is a huge risk to maintain the magic of the original and mold it to something. And to do that is embracing the concept created. 22 Jump Street is the best recent example for this. The original 21 Jump Street movie is aware that it is a comedic rehash of the original. And it did in the most spectacular fashion, from its self-aware title to its outstanding credits sequence. Among great examples are Addams Family Values, Wayne’s World 2 and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey.

But you must be thinking: did not Hot Tub and Dumb and Dumber follow the same procedure? Well frankly, they did, for the sake of cashing-in to nostalgia. They just entirely copied jokes, charm and plotline of the original and it did not do anything. Worse part is they have to drop out actors or crew members to push for such production. Other examples of the travesty include The Hangover Part II, Caddyshack II and Son of the Mask.